Posted 02 March 2011 - 11:00 AM
I did contact ARRECIFE and Valeria assured me that nothing like what happened to sebitasalejo would occur and basically it was my day and they would never tell any of my guests to put away a camera let alone stop the ceremony. Valeria mentioned that she that this was the first she'd ever heard of that sort of thing and that she was pretty upset about it herself.
I'm totally comfortable and stoked that they are taking pictures for me - they have been awesome to deal with in my experience.
Posted 03 March 2011 - 06:31 PM
I recently had a wedding at Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana and the same thing that happened to sebitasalejo occurred to us. They told us that it would be ok and not to worry about it, but when you show up it's a different story. They tell you that you have to talk to the wedding people to deal with them in person. Even if you have it in writing via email that your guest can take pictures with a professional camera. They'll make you sign a paper that says they can charge you $500 if they feel that the pictures being taken are professional pictures. So in a sense it's all a very grey area that they control. They even stopped someone in our party taking pictures in the middle of the ceremony. It was so annoying and frustrating. I would not recommend dealing with arrecife. Jackie was has a lower IQ than george bush. She wasn't helpful at all. She portrayed herself as the manager of Arrecife and said that if they didn't take the pictures than we would get charged $500. It's a total scam and they leave you with no choice but to use them. You don't need things like this right before your wedding. It's stressful enough and don't forget that this is a business to them. When you show up to the hotel to do all the paperwork you don't have a choice anymore. You're cornered!! We decided not to purchase any of their pictures as other people took plenty of pictures. Plus, my brother and I saw what the photographer Willy was doing to the pictures and it's not brain science. All he was doing was applying a preset setting on the pictures he took. He was using the program lightroom from adobe. I know of it because I used it for a class I took during the summer for fun. The same pictures they give you, you can do on your own with the same quality, but with a higher quantity at a WWWAAAYYYY Cheaper price.
Posted 03 March 2011 - 08:33 PM
HI Enrique
THanks for the advice in printing off the email - I most definitely will do that. Infact - I copied our wedding coordinator and her manager in the email I sent to Arricefe. So I guess we'll see what happens but now I'm prepared. They'd best beware. I recently had a wedding at Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana and the same thing that happened to sebitasalejo occurred to us. They told us that it would be ok and not to worry about it, but when you show up it's a different story. They tell you that you have to talk to the wedding people to deal with them in person. Even if you have it in writing via email that your guest can take pictures with a professional camera. They'll make you sign a paper that says they can charge you $500 if they feel that the pictures being taken are professional pictures. So in a sense it's all a very grey area that they control. They even stopped someone in our party taking pictures in the middle of the ceremony. It was so annoying and frustrating. I would not recommend dealing with arrecife. Jackie was has a lower IQ than george bush. She wasn't helpful at all. She portrayed herself as the manager of Arrecife and said that if they didn't take the pictures than we would get charged $500. It's a total scam and they leave you with no choice but to use them. You don't need things like this right before your wedding. It's stressful enough and don't forget that this is a business to them. When you show up to the hotel to do all the paperwork you don't have a choice anymore. You're cornered!! We decided not to purchase any of their pictures as other people took plenty of pictures. Plus, my brother and I saw what the photographer Willy was doing to the pictures and it's not brain science. All he was doing was applying a preset setting on the pictures he took. He was using the program lightroom from adobe. I know of it because I used it for a class I took during the summer for fun. The same pictures they give you, you can do on your own with the same quality, but with a higher quantity at a WWWAAAYYYY Cheaper price.
Posted 07 March 2011 - 11:41 AM
I'm travelling to the Bahia Principe Punta Cana on April 16th-23rd. I'm a photographer from Nova Scotia and would be willing to do wedding pics for anyone during that week if the bride/groom pay the $500 fee that the hotel apparently charges. My fee for the wedding would be $400-that would be all the pics edited on a disk for you to print as well as a wedding DVD set to songs of your choice. I did three weddings in Dominican last year; absolutely gorgeous place for a wedding!!! My website is www.robinsmithphotography.ca or you can find me on facebook as well. Contact/Email me for any info or more sample pics!!!!!
Posted 07 March 2011 - 11:48 AM
Hi there...I am travelling to the Bahia Principe Punta Cana on April 16th-23rd and I'm a photographer from Nova Scotia, Canada. I would be willing to do wedding pics for $400 (and the Bride/Groom will have to pay the $500 the resort charges). This will be all your pics, edited on a disk for you to print ( approx 75-100 pics for sure) and I will also make a DVD of the pics set to songs of your choice. I did three weddings last year in Punta Cana...its a beautiful spot to get married 
Check out my website at www.robinsmithphotography.ca or my facebook fan page as well- Robin Smith Photography. I can be contacted by email robin_smith1981@yahoo.ca.
Posted 08 March 2011 - 12:05 PM
A work colleague just came back from Punta Cana (she stayed at the Paradisus Punta Cana and did a photo shoot with Arrecife Studios. They are really good. Her pictures are beautiful. She said he was really fun to work with and that she felt really comfortable around him. Hope this helps.
Posted 09 March 2011 - 08:02 PM
Actually, I bought a program called Lightroom from adobe for $89 (student price) and applied the settings to my friend's pictures. They look like professional pictures. Like Enrique said, it's not brain science. You would actually be able to judge whether or not Arrecife take good pictures if they didn't edit theirs. As fat as the photographer himself (Willy), he made me feel comfortable, contrary to what I thought since he was there when I had that discussion with Jackie.
Posted 17 April 2011 - 10:33 AM
Hi everyone!
I am considering GBP Tulum for our wedding this November, and everything would be perfect about the resort except I am anxious about the photographer. From the photos I have seen, I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with them....but, the only photos I have been able to see have been on their facebook page. If anyone has any photos from Arrecife that you would be willing to let me look at to get a better idea, that would be awesome!!! you can email me...jarmbruster@prn.bc.ca
Thanks so much in advance!! 
Posted 23 April 2011 - 06:57 AM
i just put some pics of arrecife in the GBP Mexico thread.you will find more pictures there as well.I agree with you they should update the facebook page or create a blog or something like Del sol or other photographers.
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